St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Mets Prediction: Can the Cardinals Deal Max Scherzer His First Loss?
St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Mets Prediction: Can the Cardinals Deal Max Scherzer His First Loss?
The New York Mets' 6-2 victory in the series finale against the Diamondbacks may have seemed like another victory, but it was historic for the franchise. With the win, the Mets clinched their fifth consecutive series victory to start the season, which matches a franchise record set in 2018. New York is also the last remaining team in the league to have won every series it has played to this point.
Click here for Cardinals vs Mets Odds
Going on the road to face the St. Louis Cardinals will be one of the Mets' toughest assignments of the season. While St. Louis is disappointed that Cincinnati's 11-game losing streak was snapped at its expense yesterday, the Cardinals are likely excited to play in just their fifth home game this season, the fewest of any team.
Will the Mets take the first step en route to another series victory, or will the Cardinals protect their home field?
Read on for our best play in tonight's Mets-Cardinals series opener.
Cardinals vs Mets Line Movement
St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Mets Prediction
While Mets ace Jacob deGrom is still on the IL with a shoulder injury, prized offseason acquisition Max Scherzer is more than pitching like an ace in his absence. Scherzer is 3-0 with a 2.50 ERA this season and is one of just seven pitchers with three wins. In addition, Scherzer is tied for the most strikeouts of all players with at least three wins in three games started (23) and leads with a .150 OBA.
St. Louis counters with Miles Mikolas (1-0, 1.76), who is tenth among all qualified pitchers in ERA. Mikolas has done a great job of keeping the ball in the park, as he has not allowed a home run through 15.1 innings this season.
Regarding home runs, neither the Cardinals nor Reds hit a home run in the three-game series at the Great American Ball Park, which is the second time in the stadium's 20-year history that neither team homered in a three-game series. However, St. Louis' .874 OPS in home games (albeit a small sample size) is the best in baseball, and we expect their offense to wake up in this series.
Meanwhile, the Mets took advantage of shoddy defense by Arizona (Diamondbacks committed three errors) and a weak bullpen (five runs scored against five relievers) in the series finale. However, St. Louis is a much more sound defensive team with a stronger bullpen and will not be as vulnerable in the late innings.
St. Louis is 8-0 in its last eight night games against New York following a loss, while the Mets have lost seven consecutive games against teams from the NL Central. In a game where runs will be at a premium (O/U 6.5), we side with the home underdogs whose +125 moneyline odds present great value.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Mets Pick
PICK: Cardinals ML (+125) (Bet $100 to win $125)